Grafting A Tradition

A survey of modern African tyranny is a catalogue of horror and sheer looniness.

- Nicholas Reid

There are three ways you can account for the political woes of Africa. First, it’s all the fault of old colonialism: Britain, France, Germany and other imperialist villains looted the continent’s resources, and forced incompatible tribes and peoples into artificial nation-states, ensuring chaos would ensue when independence came.

Second, it’s all the fault of neo-colonialism: international corporations still loot the continent’s resources, and are complicit in sweetheart deals with dictators and strongmen, who enrich only themselves and their cronies while their people starve.

Third, it’s all the fault of African leaders themselves: for the last half-century, since independence came, too much of Africa has been ruled by megalomaniacs, kleptomaniacs and tyrants. In this version, wealth has been squandered, people have been slaughtered, democracy has withered, and only the Swiss bank accounts of the looters have been fattened.